Benjamin Sesko's behaviour and attitude already clear as Man Utd have learned the truth
Eyes will be firmly on Benjamin Sesko when Manchester United host Arsenal in their Premier League curtain-raiser. The Slovenian is set for his Red Devils debut against the Gunners, who themselves chased his signature for months.
This season, the 22-year-old will be leading Ruben Amorim's frontline with the heavy burden of a price tag worth £66.4million with potential add-ons of up to £7.6m on his shoulders. The precocious forward is widely considered to be one of the most exciting young players in Europe.
Now the pressure is as high as it possibly can be, particularly with United in dire need of improvement after a woeful campaign last season. However, if the comments of his former team-mates are anything to go by, the striker certainly has the temperament to succeed.
'Sesko is a cool guy'
Sesko was not the only new forward to arrive at Old Trafford. Former Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo joined in a deal worth £71m. In one of his first interviews at United, Mbeumo gave his thoughts on Sesko's early contributions to the group, saying: "He looks like a cool guy.
"We're just being normal, just having normal conversations. He's a good guy. I think it's important [to help people settle], especially when you come from another league and you don't really know [things here].
"I think it's important to make them feel at home already. I think everyone is doing this naturally, we don't really calculate anything, but I think this is really important."
Discomfort towards Erling Haaland comparisons
Sesko and Erling Haaland both made their breakthroughs while playing for RB Salzburg, so comparisons between the two were inevitable. Interestingly, he once claimed many of his former colleagues told him he is a better player than the Manchester City hitman, saying: "My team-mates at the club tell me that Haaland and I are very similar, especially in terms of speed. Most of them even tell me that I'm better than him!"
He was reminded of that particular comment during an interview with the The Telegraph. Instead of backing it up, Sesko rowed back on the quote, perhaps with a view of trying to appear more humble. He said: "What should I say? This is comparing me to someone who is one of the best players in the world.
"So, it's not easy to compare. I would not like to compare myself to anyone. I would just love to be myself and be the best myself.'
United fans will be encouraged by his comments, as it shows he is not looking to get ahead of himself and put himself above other top players, before he has even kicked a ball in the Premier League.
Brilliance in training
Of course, the performances Sesko will be measured by will be his displays at Old Trafford and the rest of the Premier League grounds. However, one comment from his former colleague Ridle Baku will be a huge green flag for United fans.
Many great players such as Eden Hazard were often considered as terrible and lazy trainers, but made up for it with their performances in games. While the latter remains to be seen in the Premier League, many of Sesko's past colleagues have said they've been impressed by his performances and attitude in training sessions.
Baku told FourFourTwo: "Our striker Sesko, I was really impressed, to be honest. The first training session, I knew already that he's a good player.
"But I'm speaking about potential, probably he's not [currently at] potential he could be, but right now, what I saw already, very impressive. He has everything to be a world-class player."
"He's the best I've played with"
Throughout his time at RB Leipzig, Sesko mostly played with experienced Danish forward Yussuf Poulsen. Despite playing with the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Timo Werner and Alexander Sorloth, who all have impressive goalscoring records, Poulsen placed Sesko above all of those.
However, he also admitted the forward is a great player to play alongside, suggesting Sesko is not a selfish player who could grate against his team-mates. Speaking to TNT in December, Poulsen said: "As a striker, he's the best I've played with. If you look at his abilities, he has everything a top number 9 needs.
"He's still young, he still needs to learn, not the technical things about being a striker but maybe more the finesse side. He has everything, strength shooting, technique, everything.
"I like working with him and I'm trying to get him there – he'll go on and score a lot of goals for us and some point go to the club he'll love to play for."
Sesko's behaviour during United links
There was plenty of attention on Sesko's transfer saga, but he made few headlines in comparison to fellow strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak. Gyokeres went on strike to force through a move to Arsenal, while Isak has told Newcastle United he will not play for them again, in order to try and secure a move to Liverpool.
However, Sesko did not go out of his way to barrage his way out of Leipzig. While the Bundesliga side did make him train on his own, the Slovenian never went on strike or threatened to take firm action against his side.
Instead, he quietly went about his day job, something which pleased Amorim, according to the Manchester Evening News. Emphasising the importance of Sesko's character, Amorim said: "It is a key point in our way of doing things now. It's not just how they play. It's really important how they play, of course, because that is their job, but their character is really important.
"We took a lot of time to get to know the players and talk with everybody before we brought players into our group. That is going to be a rule and will be massive in our decision to sign a player."
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